All posts for the month July, 2012

In a professional capacity, I have been indirectly involved with a number of fatal quad bike accidents in recent months. This author remains distressed at the number of young lives lost on Australian rural properties associated with the use of these machines.

This is often associated with the lack of safety gear, including helmets, when operating these bikes. They have become the most deadliest machine on Australian farms, being involved double the amount of tractor incidents. All too often it is children under the age of 16 that are killed or injured whilst riding them, often without the use of helmets. Quad bikes are essentially unstable and are easily involved in rollover accidents with dire consequences for the rider. Manufacturers remain reluctant to install rollbars to help protect riders.

I noticed with amusement this post from fellow blogger Andrew Doohan, And It’s Pronounced…? when he touches on the strange way that parents of children choose to spell (or mis-spell) their names. I certainly agree with his sentiment, but then again I never did like George! Please call me Angus!

He stated that in his opinion, the three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and a good bowel movement. He added, with a smile on his face, that a night landing on an aircraft carrier is one of the few opportunities in life where you get to experience all three, at the same time.

As I am want to do, I was sitting in a coffee shop recently indulging in my favourite pastime, the consumption of good coffee, when I noticed an older gentleman sitting next to me reading a book called “Dancing With the Devil” written by Christopher Geraghty. The book looked interesting, so I boldly asked him what it was about. Thus we started talking.

He stated in part, that at the age of nearly forty, Christopher Geraghty who had been a Catholic priest for nearly fifteen years, and had endured bullying and persecution during that time. Events eventually caused Geraghty to turn his back on the priesthood, but not the Church, and to take a different path in life. Geraghty had then studied the law part-time and, for the last 16 years of his professional life, worked as a district court judge in Sydney.

The old gent said that he had known Geraghty well, and could relate to the highs and lows, the ups and downs that he must have endured. He asked me had I known him too? I said that I had not, other than I had known the name as being in legal circles. I did wonder whether the old gent was, or had been a priest. but unfamiliarity forbade me to ask.

Needless to say, I was intrigued by the story, so much so that today I have ordered a copy of the book for myself. Watch this space for instalments!

Further to my blog below titled “Iran Rocks to ACDC”, further investigation suggests that this may not be the case at all!

An inspection of the available documents and with the use of on-line translation programs, this author can find no evidence to support the story.

A web search reveals the story was only reported from the F-Secure site.

Only part of the email is displayed on the site F-Secure site. It is displayed in Arabic.

The email shows a web address http://www.aeoi.org.ir. When this address is followed , it does appear to call up the legitimate web site for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.

The Arabic text from this site was cut and paste, and run through a translation program. The translated text (although incomplete) makes no mention of virus, worms or ACDC.

However, the email on the F-Secure site looks like a screen capture of the home page of the AEOI site, rather than a traditional email. It is noted that today’s AEOI front page is slightly different but it does contain the same references as seen on on the F-Secure site.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, passage of emails in and out of Iran, passing details that might embarass the regime, would no doubt have severe repercussions on the author of those emails, assuming that a scientist could be found with western sympathies and willing to take the risk.

MINA reported Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear facilities have suffered a cyber attack that diabled their computers and played music from the rock band AC/DC.

A new worm targeted Iran’s nuclear program, closing down the “automation network” at the Natanz and Fordo nuclear facilities. MINA cites the story was reported on the F-Secure Security Labs web site.

The substance of the text appears to be thus:

“I am writing you to inform you that our nuclear program has once again been compromised and attacked by a new worm with exploits which have shut down our automation network at Natanz and another facility Fordo near Qom.

According to the email our cyber experts sent to our teams, they believe a hacker tool Metasploit was used. The hackers had access to our VPN. The automation network and Siemens hardware were attacked and shut down. I only know very little about these cyber issues as I am scientist not a computer expert.

There was also some music playing randomly on several of the workstations during the middle of the night with the volume maxed out. I believe it was playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC”.

The virus also prompted several of the computers on site to play the song “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC at full volume in the middle of the night, according to the e-mail, part of which is published in English on the website.

F-Secure Security Labs, which is linked to F-Secure Oyj (FSC1V), the Finnish maker of security and cloud software, said that while it was unable to verify the details of the attack described, it had confirmed that the scientist who reported them was sending and receiving the e-mails from within Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

Iran’s nuclear program and oil facilities have been subject to a succession of cyber attacks that the Foreign Ministry said in May were launched by hostile governments as part of a broader “soft war.” Iran accuses the U.S. and Israel of trying to sabotage its technological progress. Both countries say Iran’s nuclear activities may have military intent, an allegation that Iran denies.

Call me a cynic if you will, but I suspect that this is one story that cannot, or will not be confirmed or denied. One has to question the authenticity of the emails purportedly originating from a “scientist” the AEOI.

This Is Me

George Brown is a decorated soldier and health professional and 40 year veteran in the field of emergency nursing and paramedical practice, both military and civilian areas. He has senior management positions in the delivery of paramedical services. Opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the author and should not be construed as being those of any organization to which he may be connected.

He was born in the UK of Scottish ancestry from Aberdeen and a member of the Clan MacDougall. He is a member of the Macedonian community in Newcastle, and speaks fluent Macedonian. While this may seem a contradiction, it is his wife who is Macedonian, and as a result he embraced the Macedonian language and the Orthodox faith.

His interests include aviation and digital photography, and he always enjoys the opportunity to combine the two. Navigate to his Flickr site to see recent additions to his photo library.